Coonamessett wind turbine will be what’s new in 2008

Wednesday

Dec 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 26, 2007 at 9:43 AM

We’re not talking about the greenhouse effect but an effect on greenhouses, and a positive one at that. As the new year approaches, members of Coonamessett Farm are looking forward to a new form of energy production: a 10KW wind turbine that has been sought for a decade and, weather permitting, could be finished by April.

Craig Salters

We’re not talking about the greenhouse effect but an effect on greenhouses, and a positive one at that.

As the new year approaches, members of Coonamessett Farm are looking forward to a new form of energy production: a 10KW wind turbine that has been sought for a decade and, weather permitting, could be finished by April.

“It’s a step-by-step process,” said Ron Smolowitz, owner of Coonamessett Farm, who added that the turbine project has all of its permits, including a final one from the Falmouth Building Department.

Coonamessett farm, spread out over 20 acres, of Hatchville Road, is dedicated to agricultural production, research and consulting.

Right now, the turbine project consists of a large hole in the ground as workers get ready to pour the foundation. The turbine tower, which is 120 feet tall, is being fabricated in Ohio and could be ready in five to six weeks. The turbine itself, which was made in Germany, has already been delivered.

Once completed, the wind turbine will measure roughly 135 feet from the tip of the tallest blade point to the ground. Under optimum wind conditions, the turbine is capable of generating 10 kilowatt hours of energy per hour, or 240 kilowatt hours over the course of one day.

Smolowitz said the turbine will be used for the farm’s greenhouse complex, which includes the irrigation system. In a typical month, he said, that system uses roughly 8,000 kilowatt hours of energy.

“With local agriculture, one of the main expenses is utilities,” Smolowitz said.

Specifically, the renewable energy could be used to light the greenhouses, thereby expanding the growing season. Also, the farm currently uses propane to heat the hot water under the growing beds but, with a turbine, it would make sense to go electric since the farm would be producing its own renewable electricity.

Smolowitz said that, in the past, the biggest obstacle to the project was the lack of a dedicated funding source. That changed with the creation of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public entity funded by monthly electric bill charges to ratepayers.

A grant from the MTC Renewable Energy Trust Fund will pay 50 percent of the project’s estimated $80,000 cost. A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund another 25 percent while Coonamessett Farm will pay the remaining 25 percent.

Although expanded growing seasons are nice, perhaps the best thing about the wind turbine is that it represents energy harvested right at the source, an idea that strikes a chord on Coonamessett Farm.

“The farm’s members are big fans of local food production, local fiber (from the farm’s sheep and alpacas) and, now, local energy,” Smolowitz said.